Improved compound railroad-rail



and

i Qof the. same. s.

Extending Vfrom thecentral portion of the underside of the head C, and lengthwise thereof, is a continuous www gisting @stent tjijiiw.

HENRY FERGUSON, OF MANCHESTER, NEW JERSEY.

Lezrslaanz No. 91,532, daad June 22, 1869; madam .Tum 7, 1869.

:turnover comomm ammonia-Rau.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent; and making part of the lame.

To all whom 'it 'ma/y concern Be it known that I, HENRTJ. FERGUSON, of Manchester, in the county of Ocean, and. State of New Jersey, have invented a new and improved Compound Rail; I do hereby declare rthat the following is a full1 clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a transverse section l0f a compound rail, constructed according to my improvement,-

and

Figure 2 a similar view of the several parts. Similar letters of reference indicate parts in both figures.

This invention consists in the novel construction and,

arrangement of .the several longitudinal sections of which a compound rail is composed, whereby they are rendered mutually'V supporting and mutually sustaining in all directions, without the employment f bolts passing transversely through them.

In order that others' may understand the construction and operation 'of my invention; I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

A is the web, composed offltwo longitudinal sections, a. a., fitting together by l tongues and grooves t t, so as to secure the same against vertical displacement.

The 'lowerextremity of this double web A is received Vwithin a base-plate, B, havinglongitudinal lockingflanges b projecting upward from its'edges, whereby the lateral displacement of the lower portion of the web, and the separation of its sections a a, are prevented. i O is a heady or cap, composed preferably of steel,

and having longitudinal locking-flanges c @projecting `downward from its edges,'for clasping the upper ex tremities of the sections a of the web A, thereby pre# `venting the lateral displacement ofthe upper portions said tongue to d rop vertically into it, and alsotoleave i a spacebetween the inner surface' of the one andouter surface of the other, suitable for contaiuingzinc, or any other easily fusible metal, or other material or compound capable of being appliedin a plastic or molten l state.

lhis metal orcompound is applied to the said space around the tongue g in aliquid state, by pouring it through openings f, which passvertically through the head C, and communicate, through the tongue g,witli thegroove e:

, s Dis a clamp, with its extremities d turned upward corresponding and inward, so that when fitted upon the rail, will,

clamp, by means of its upwardly and inwardly-bending extremities d, the upper side of the base of the web A, thereby holding it securely to the base-plate B. l

Clamps of this kind are applied to the rail at intervals of, say, every two feet. A

In laying this compound rail, the base-plates B are first laid, and secured to the gether, andlaid uponthebase-plates B, between their upturned edges b, and in-such manner that the said sections -breakjoints both with each other and Iwith the base-plates B.

The clamps D, which, previous to their adjustment upon therails, are left with one end straight, to permit them to be slipped underthe base of the rail, in a direction transverse thereto, are then applied at suitable intervals, andv then bent and tightened around the means of their downward extensions c c, the upper part` by to hold said of the sections a a ofthe web A, there partsitogether, and prevent an outward displacement or separation of the same.

rlhe headsO are secured upon the webs A by means of the zinc, or other metal or material, poured through the openings j' into the groove e, which lls the space around the tongue g, and thereby connects together the said parts.

Other material or compound, capable of being applied in a plastic or molten state, may be used instead thereof', but it should be preferably a material or compound susceptible of being softened or melted by the application of heat, so that a broken or damaged head may be removed at any time, by first building a fire upon that partof the ,rail containing the damaged head, and melting or softening the said material or compound.

lhe flanges b b, on the edges of the base-plate B, may be made to extend suioiently above the base ofthe web A, so that when the hase of the web is adj usted uponv the base-plate B, it may be secured thereon by the bending inwardly of the upper portions of the flanges b b, by means of a sledge, or other suitable means.

l In this way, all necessity for clamps D may be dispensed with.

Whatl claim as my invention, and desire to have secured by Letters Patent, isf- 1. The compound rail, consistingof the longitudicross-ties`; the corresl `pending sections a of the web A are next placed touallydivided web A,a.nged base-plate B, and flanged,

and dovetailed head O, the whole constructed, arranged, and c ombincd substantially as herein shown and described.

2. The dovetailed tongue g, and anges c c, on the under side of the head O, in combination with the channel ein the web A, sewing to unite the head with the web, by filling the cavity around the tongue g with molten metal, substantially as shown and described.

3. Combining the bead and web of a. railroadrail, by means of molten metal poured in and around a dovetailed tongue and groove, substantially as described.

BENRY J. FERGUSON.

Witnesses:

HENRY T. BROWN, J. M. DIXON. 

